With Africa facing the combined threats of HIV/AIDS, hunger and preventable diseases, which are all too often compounded by conflict, poverty and inadequate health services, the two million Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers throughout the continent provide an unrivalled network to address these urgent challenges, the International Federation said today as the 6th Pan African Conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies got under way in Algiers.
The conference, the most important gathering for what is the largest humanitarian network in Africa, will address some of its most pressing issues: disturbingly high child mortality rates; 25 million people living with HIV/AIDS; 180 million chronically undernourished people.
The gathering, which is held every four years, lasts from 8 to 13 September and will attract some 700 participants, bringing together all 53 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Africa, along with sister National Societies that fund programmes in Africa, representatives of the International Federation, the International Committee of the Red Cross, governments, United Nations agencies, pan-African political groupings and private sector partners.
“We are proud to host this immensely important conference, which will set the agenda for meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in Africa for the next four years,” said Dr Mohamed Salah Badouna, President of the Algerian Red Crescent.
“Since our last regional conference in Ouagadougou, four years ago, there have been many success stories. Virtually all the National Societies in Africa have HIV/AIDS programmes, Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers have been involved in groundbreaking public health campaigns and have helped to develop and implement innovative approaches to tackling food insecurity,” said the president of the International Federation, Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro.
“But we have also learned that we cannot act alone. To maximise the impact of our activities, we must work closely with like-minded organisations, pooling our skills and know-how. We have built up strong and vibrant alliances with a wide range of partners, including groups representing people living with HIV/AIDS, UN agencies and private corporations. This conference seeks to build on those partnerships and increase the capacity of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to meet the needs of the vulnerable in Africa,” Suárez del Toro added.
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, supported by the International Federation, have become valued partners largely because of their unparalleled access to communities, which strengthen the outreach capacities of national governments and give a vast number of people the knowledge and tools they need to reduce their vulnerability to preventable diseases, food insecurity and natural disasters.